Huge indoor sports complex prepares to open

Goshen — Don’t put away your golf clubs just yet. You won’t need to stow your tennis racquet or dig out your heavy stadium coat. You will soon be able to enjoy your sport of choice in the comfort of a new indoor arena. One of the biggest indoor sports complexes in the lower Hudson Valley is preparing to swing open its doors. The 27,000-square-foot Primo Sports, LLC, will open to the public on Dec. 1, its managing partners say. The new complex is located in the Remee Plaza, located near the border of Goshen and Florida, along Route 17A. The complex is designed both for serious competitors and for people who just want to come in and have some fun, said managing partner Jim Lagarde. The interior will include four fields -- a hardwood basketball court and three grass fields -- along with a retail sports store and three rooms that will be available for birthdays and corporate outings. The fields are designed for soccer, basketball, lacrosse, football, golf, wrestling, volleyball, and tennis. Each major section will be separated by lengths of netting. The grass fields will consist of two-inch bladed grass. The golfing section will include, in addition to a driving range, a golf academy with youth classes. Remee Plaza already offers a physical therapy, martial arts, gymnastics, a learning center, and a nursery, and so offers something for just about everyone in an active family. Primo Sports is the longtime dream of Jim Lagarde of Goshen, a well-known soccer player and trainer. He taught the children of his partner, Luca Spensieri, who is also from Goshen. Lagarde, along with the children he trained and their parents, were frustrated to see kids losing their skills and conditioning during the winter after working so hard the rest of the year. He realized they needed a place to train when the weather turned bad. But children from all over Orange County, and adults too, need a place to be active, to stay healthy and out of trouble, Lagarde said. Once people start to play sports, he said, they will have a source of pleasure and a recipe for good health that will last them the rest of their lives. And with an indoor sports center, he noted, parents no longer have to sit through games in the sweltering heat or a cold rain. The center offers children a safe environment where they can develop good skills in social interaction, he said. Sports teams and local organizations will be able to rent space in the complex. It will offer instruction for all ages, starting as young as three, and for every level of expertise. Having a birthday party at the center is a great way to get kids started in sports, Lagarde said. Organizers of such parties and corporate events can choose to have them catered. Lagarde brings with him plenty of coaching and training experience. He has an International Premier Coach’s diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America in Curitiba, Brazil, and is a National Academy Staff Coach with the association. In addition to being partner and general manager of the center, Lagarde will also head up Primo’s soccer programs. Lagarde and Spensieri are looking to add to their staff in any of the above-mentioned sports. Those interested may send an e-mail to Jlagarde@primosports.net or call 651-0440.